Canucks going to the Stanley Cup Finals!

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1st Round Pick

The wait is over -- it wasn't the prettiest goal that clinched it, but I think we have enough chapters to put in the storybook in the three series so far. What a feeling! Really proud of this group of guys -- really the whole organization has been doing things the right way and it's paying off.

I could go on and on, but I'll keep it short. San Jose played a very strong game, but it was just a case of too little too late. Had they come out of the gate like that, this would have been a series. Several players were stellar, but several just didn't show up until the final game -- injuries can explain some of this I'm sure but Heatley, Setoguchi, Pavelski were nowhere to be found until it was too late. Niemi finally loses a series -- I don't think he's a bad goalie, but probably the most overrated in the league. McClellan certainly does a nice job on the podium.

As for the Canucks, as the cliche goes, their best players were their best players. This has been a real team effort for the Canucks in the playoffs, but tonight, they were led by their leaders. Luongo was phenomenal -- he may not have silenced all his critics, but then again there are still people who believe that we never landed on the moon. Kesler didn't have a fantastic game, but tons of credit for playing through that injury, and what could be more clutch than tipping in the tying goal with 13 seconds left on the clock. I think if San Jose takes this game Vancouver is still the odds on favourite to take the series, but it would have been unbelievably stressful -- credit to the Canucks for playing well enough to put themselves in position to clinch it in Game 5. And lastly the Sedins -- they were just magical. As much as the hockey gods smiled on the Canucks last night in 2OT, had they been smiling on the Sedins they probably could have had 7 or 8 goals -- shift after shift they just dominated, making scoring chances materialize out of nothing. If they can bring that game to the finals that will be huge.

Finally, some sweep up comments on the whining on the icing, man is that some sore loser nonsense by some portion of SJ fans. First of all, the fact that you can't tell 100% that it hit Sedin in ultra-super-slo-mo means that there's no way the linesman can tell in real time. Don't want the call to go against you, then don't slap it around the boards at 90 miles an hour. And let's get some perspective -- the powerplays in the game were 5-1, including 90+ seconds of 5-on-3, where the second penalty on Kesler was such a borderline slash you could probably call 30 in a period by that standard. To pick out that icing play as the deciding factor is just absurd. Kudos to the many Sharks' fans who took the play in stride.

Man! Going to Cup Finals for the first time in 17 years! So excited. I'll leave this for another post, but I really don't know what to think of the potential match-ups against Boston or Tampa. Might as well wait until they finish their series. It will be a great battle either way.

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6th Round Pick

I'm with you CC - the reffing in the series overall was one-sided in favour of the Sharks and quite badly - even notorious Canucks hater Jeff Blair admitted as much on his show this morning. For the Sharks to b*tch about a missed icing, and not all that apparent a miss, is just sour grapes. Their team wasn't as good as Vancouver in the series and that's why they lost.

I'm quite amazed that they've won the way they have - they've had goalie controversies, stars injured, multiple dmen injured - and they keep going. Gillis should be commended over and over for what he's done here - the depth the team has is second to none, and the better thing about it is there's lots of cap room to keep everybody if he wants to. There will be no Hawks-like sell off this off-season.

It's also amazing to come through the west and have a very tough road - they played two of the top 4 teams in the NHL (the other two being themselves and the Wings) to get there so there's been no Boston-like easy road.

Anyway - on to the finals - I'll waitt o post my prediction once the opponent is decided. The Canucks will be heavy favourites but that means nothing - they need to keep playing as they have in order to lift the cup. The hardest series is still to come.

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2nd Team All-Star

that said, i think the Sharks played one hell of a game on tuesday. they left nothing, and to lose on such a goal is tough. but let's look at this series or even this game - you can't say they didnt get their breaks. i mean, the 2 goals they got yesterday were gifts (from Ballard, and Luongo) - they didn't really score any real goals. in the series, almost all their goals came on the powerplay, and when that was nullified, they couldn't compete.

only one gripe. very dissappointed in the way CBC has covered the Canucks. time and time again, taking turns glorifying Chicago players like bolland, toews, seabrook, keith, and crawford, then again with Weber and Suter, and Rinne...and most recently endless talk about Thornton this Thornton that. i mean, at one point they were tracking how many miles Thornton was skating (if you gonna track players, track one from each team). i mean, come on....those teams were all either behind or losing ,when many of those comments were made. and now, despite all that glorification, they've all lost to the Canucks. and this is supposed to be Canada's hockey station?? i've lived in the US over 15 years, and you'd NEVER, EVER find an American station side against their own team's like that. i prefer equal unbiased commentary, and i know it's impossible to not be a homer, but to go so far the other way??? no wonder Vancouver fans feel so dissed.

let's talk about how good Kesler, Burrows and the Twins were this series. and how about Luongo, who was absolutely lites out last night. how about cover how silently good Hamhuis is?? or the excellent play of the 3rd line?? on and on they went on about how good the 3rd line of the Sharks was until it was quite clear, they were outclassed, and outplayed?? and Don Cherry's mispronouncing of players names is getting beyond disrespectful it's tiring. Ryan Kessel, Beeeska, and the famous Sundin twins. retire already mr. cherry.

anyhow, end of rant. back to cheering now.
Stanley cup finals here we come!!

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2nd Team All-Star

The Canucks looked very nervous which slowed the pace of the game which is when San Jose is at its best...

For me it speaks to why the Sharks are such a good regular season team and have such a good powerplay...when the games are at a controlled pace their top end players are very good...

The Sharks caught 2 big breaks which led to their goals as did the Canucks so maybe they should re write the score to show it as a 1 - 0 win for Vancouver...

Regarding the way the media covers the Canucks, I am so over it that frankly I don't care and I don't care if they are not Canada's team ... San Jose were a bunch of talkers and for every "dive" a Nuck player took, the Sharks took one as well, yet it was only Vancouver that was played up in the media...

San Jose tried to play bully and it was them who got worked over physically...

Regarding Gillis, I think Rafe Torres speaks for the enviroment he has created when he said that he had been offered more money to sign in other cities but felt this was an organization he wanted to come to and left money on the table to do so...

The travel in the finals will be an advantage to the Nucks because they are so use to it and they have systems in place to minimize the negative effect from it...

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NHL

It's funny (funny strange not funny ha ha) how differently I feel after that win last night. I kept expecting the Nucks to win eventually but when they went down by a goal on that timing play when Luongo was a split second late and Kesler hobbled off the ice with an apparent groin injury, I had a complete resurrection of all those old doubts and disappointments. Even now, I don't think it has completely registered how big an accomplishment that was last night.

For Beast's frustration at the lack of love coming from Hockey Night in Canada, there's a solution at hand. It's called a PVR. The Don Cherry senility issues go away with fast forwarding. I think Hughie's play by play is second to none and if the critiquing from Simpson and Healey don't come across as pro Canucks at time, I can live with that. Far too much time and energy has been spent on trying to get the Canucks to be "Canada's Team". To be honest, this country is too big and regional for that to ever happen. It's our team and they're in the Stanley Cup Finals and theirs isn't. They are welcome to come along for the ride but this is fundamentally "our" trip and we are going to enjoy the heck out of it.

Inconsistent officiating seems to be a fact of life. It especially comes to the fore front when we lose so it shouldn't come as a surprise when it's mentioned by the ones we beat.

As far as the next series being the toughest, I respectfully disagree. The toughest was the first one against Chicago. That one removed most of the demons that hung around this team for the past two years. The Nashville series was next because of the stifling nature of their back end. San Jose wasn't built that way and it cost them and the five game victory demonstrates how important defense is in the play offs. As for Boston and Tampa Bay, neither team has the make up or depth to provide the kind of opposition we've faced this far. I predicted a five game victory over San Jose which surprisingly came true. I will go with the same prediction no matter who comes out of the east. When you factor in how difficult it seems to be for teams to make the adjustment playing so far out of their time zone, particularly heading west, I fully expect the Canucks to finish the first four games no worse than 3-1.

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2nd Team All-Star

dont have a PVR SR...haha...and i dont' think i could pvr a live game of this importance anyway, too many around watching it live to blow the deal for me. =0)

i hear ya on CBC tho. just feel stuck listening to them. it's not so much being upset they aren't pro canucks (they shouldn't be), but that they often come across anti-canucks. anyhow, i can't wait till the day that hockey broadcasts just become localized like in the US. the demise of gov't funding will bring at least one positive. CBC will be toast soon for sports coverage.

re: series getting tougher or easier? i agree Chicago was the most dangerous. each series was a unique challenge, and Van has surpassed each test. as for TB or Boston, either of them , i'd say would lose to any of SJ, DET, CHI, or maybe even ANA had they made it thru. the east is much too weak. i've watched every game, and the flow, the structure and puck movement in that series is far inferior to what we've been seen out west during these playoffs. that said, i hope the Canucks don't get dopey. =0)

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6th Round Pick

CBC is a Toronto based station, and the commentators/news media types/etc are Toronto fans, by and large. Of course they aren't going to cheer for the Canucks, they are bitter Leaf fans and that's fine - it's exactly like Canuck fans were up until about 5 or 6 years ago.

I'm really not sure why Canuck fans or the hockey media seems to want to have a 'Canada's team'. The Canucks are BC's team, no more, no less. I wouldn't be cheering for the Leafs/Habs/Flames/Oilers/Sens if they were in the finals, so why should I expect other fans to cheer for the Canucks?

As for Cherry - who cares? He spends all his time talking about each and every player from Ontario, the rest of the country and world be damned. He loves Bieksa (Grimsby) and Torres (Toronto), but he doesn't talk at all about Henrik's 12 points in the series because he's Swedish, or Kesler single-handedly beating Nashville because he's American. His act wore out for the vast majority of Canadians a long time ago, unfortunately CBC is a Toronto station and he's loved by a lot of Leaf fans, who have a large enough fan base to keep him on the air.

I'm with you Sir - bring it on. I said the hardest series is yet to come because it's the finals - the mental pressure will be immense. Let's see if the boys have the fortitude to fight through it, they've shown a lot so far.

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NHL

Sportsnet Pacific is my favorite channel for Canucks games. They are unabashedly pro Canucks and that's fine with me. The two Johns are fun to listen to, Garrett in particular still wears his colors proudly and any suggestion that he was unbiased would be laughed at. Interesting how Jim Hughson has had some criticism for being too pro Vancouver and when you factor in the head of CBC Sports is from out west as well, it just goes to show the eastern pressure they're working under. Could you imagine how much flack they would take if they didn't pander to the eastern (Ontario audience) if they showed the games at prime time out west? Even the 6PM start time is still eastern based even though there is a very small compromise. The noon start in San Jose was ridiculous but that's the NBC influence more than any thing else.

As for the PVR issue, we have two. My wife tends to watch a blend of her shows and the game which would drive me nuts. That isn't a problem as long as she's behind where I am. Every once in a while I hear a scream and a bunch of stomping upstairs which tells me the Canucks are going to score. Surprise, surprise - they do - who knew?

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2nd Team All-Star

its' funny the eastern bias...it occurs also in the US, where "NY" is the center of the universe and California is like Mars. lol. i've lived on both coasts in Canada and the USA, so it's a funny, yet normally occurring phenomena .

i honestly don't care too much, except that it gets tiring. bothers the wife more than myself, as she's always saying, can't we listen to Shorty and watch CBC on mute?? i'd say, that's really screwy, knowing very well, broadcasts have delays. after the game, she totally digs homers like Valk and Garrett. (actually she's gone hockey crazy, watching endless highlites/commentaries after the game while i'm just too beat to look at the tv any more - especially last night! i dont know whats' come over her, ever since we beat those darn Hawks, she's become a huge fan).

As for Garrett, he's defnitely diehard fan first and foremost - he looked real proud last night, and i think as part of the long suffering Canuck fan base, he (we) deserve a little joy and celebration here. =0)

it's a shame ticket prices are waaaay beyond what i'd like to pay. else it'd be pretty darn cool to be there for the finals. yes, i'm stupidly jealous of those that get to see the games live, those not-really-watching-the-game, cellphone-texting, living-on-too-much-debt, bandwagon canucks fans. =0)This post was edited on 5/25 3:04 PM by Original BeastThis post was edited on 5/25 3:06 PM by Original BeastThis post was edited on 5/25 3:07 PM by Original Beast

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NHL

In terms of statistics, it's hard to argue any kind of bias in the number of calls. On May 15th, the Sharks had 5 penalties to the Nucks 2. On May 18th, they had 13 to our 7. May 20th - Sharks 6, Nucks 11. May 22 - Sharks 6, Nucks 5. May 24 Sharks 1, Nucks 4. Totals for the series, Sharks 31, Nucks 29.

What I've taken issue with is the inconsistency of the calls and the resulting confusion for both teams. Emotionally, when one's team is effected by one of these inconsistencies at a critical point of the game, the perception of bias naturally follows. Whether it can be supported by statistics never really enters the equation.

If you had asked me which team had the most penalties called against them in the series, I would have answered the Canucks. Now that I know it wasn't the case, does that change my perception of inconsistency? Not really. There were times when both teams got jobbed and the fact that this happened at all is more the issue than anything else.

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6th Round Pick

Did you watch the games? The 5 on 3's you are talking about were on a delay of time (puck over the glass) so the officials had to call it, and a too many men call that was so blatant anybody could have seen it.

I don't think it's bias - I never said that - I just said bad reffing. Personally my opinion is that the Nucks have a really, really good PP so the refs are scared to call a penalty that decides the outcome of the game.

For the Nucks to be shorthanded much more in the playoffs, when they are likely the best skating team in the league, makes no sense. They get lots of ticky-tack calls against - witness the 5 straight San Jose penalties prior to the Nucks ones the refs had no choice but to call in game 4 - they were all garbage, each and every one.

Regardless of the terrible reffing (and it's not just the Nucks, it was just as bad last night in the B's - Lightning series) and their opposition getting way more chances than Vancouver, they are winning and winning quite easily. That shows me a lot. If you want to take out of this that I'm whining about the reffing I really don't care.

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6th Round Pick

Remember, those stats include 5 penalties for Eager in game 2 alone, when the score was already 6-1 and the game was out of hand. Take that game out of the equation and it's a much more representative sample.

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1st Round Pick

I agree, anyone who thinks the reffing in this series was good, especially in the games in SJ, just didn't watch. The two SJ games were completely dominated by the refs, ruined the games, ruined the teams' flow. I think the Canucks got the short end of Game 3 (San Jose magically had 10PPs in that game, after having only 3 in Games 1 ad 2), and were on their way to getting the short end of Game 4 with 5 straight calls (through 24 minutes!), but their PK came through to keep the game 0-0, then the tides turned and they got those 5-on-3s and buried them -- but as you said there was nothing the refs could do to avoid calling those.

My point here is simple. First, the refs, particularly in the San Jose games did an atrocious job which made the series much less enjoyable to watch than it could otherwise have been. When both teams finally showed up and there wasn't a parade to the box, Game 5 was very entertaining. Second, San Jose has no argument to complain about the reffing, because although I am not objective, even correcting substantially for my bias San Jose got more than their fair share of calls going their way, while the Canucks racked up a lot of their PPs in the 3rd period of a 7-3 game (didn't we end that one on a 5-on-3 for the last 8 seconds?).

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6th Round Pick

That's a weird post for a fan of a team that has alternated between average and horrible this playoffs - they are lucky they are in the east otherwise they would never have got this far.

I'm not sure who you are responding to (I'm assuming it's not me, as I definitely don't think a finals win is ever a foregone conclusion) but even someone with Bruin/Bolt blinders on would have to admit the Canucks are a huge favourite to win the whole thing, no matter which team they play.

Personally I hope it's Boston - such an easy team to hate, and I already can't stand either the Pats or Sox fans (I'm a Bills/Blue Jay fan) so it's not a stretch to hate B's fans. It would also make for much better coverage, as the series would mean a ton to both teams.

As I said though - the Canucks will be favourites, but that guarantees them nothing. If they think the are pre-ordained to win the cup they will lose. If they play as they have been then they have a very good chance to win.

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1st Round Pick

I agree -- anything can happen in the finals, whether one team is a favorite or not. I have seen nothing from the Canucks to indicate that they won't treat either team with a great deal of respect and give it their all every night because that will be what's needed to win.

At the same time, holy over-reaction to fans making predictions. Key word there being fans. I do honestly think that any of the three teams we have already eliminated would have an excellent chance at beating either Tampa or Boston. That's not taking anything away from either of the teams or guaranteeing that, just because we have beat those other teams we will be able to do it in the finals. I just think that both Tampa and Boston have some glaring weaknesses, both in terms of "on paper" analysis and in the games I've watched them play throughout the playoffs.

Having said that, it's the Stanley Cup finals and if you don't bring it on every shift you're going home in a hurry. I didn't think Philly had much of a shot against the Hawks last year, and while they ended up losing, they were an OT goal away from forcing Game 7. Still, if I had to put aside preferences and put money on it, I think it's pretty clear smart money is on the Canucks. Then again, the margin of error is so small that if Vancouver finds a way to lose it's first couple at home, all of a sudden things look much different.

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NHL

Being a tad sensitive are we? I have gone on record by indicating how I feel the final series will end. If that comes across as being arrogant, that's not my problem. Would you be happier if I said the series would go seven games? I could have said that but I don't see any reason to believe that will be the case. All of the colorful comments about not having a prayer, players disappearing and sucking are yours. I particularly enjoyed that one about Horton and Krejci. Wish I'd thought it - wouldn't have used it but wish I'd thought it.

I don't think any team would get to the Stanley Cup Finals without having a Hell of a lot going for them. Both the Bruins and Lightning are great teams with both strengths and weaknesses. I just firmly believe the Canucks are significantly better. Over the season both of these teams finished 14 points behind the Canucks. Remember as well that these teams generated more of their points playing other teams in the Eastern Conference which is widely perceived as the weaker of the two so that may make the gap that much more significant.

Why not just make your own predictions and when it's all said and done, let's see who was right? I get that you would love to see your Bruins win the Cup. I just don't see why the name calling has to be part of that process.

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2nd Team All-Star

honestly, i don't think TB is that good. they've had a great run, with some unexpected performances from their 3rd line. their defense is scrambly and and Roloson can be unpredictably bad. (i still can't believe they swept Washington). the Bruins are a better team, deeper, with an elite goalie, and talent up front. that said, the fact that Rollie was so bad yesterday, and TB playing 1/2 the time a 1-3-1 trap, and count on sudden counter attacks, i'm stunned how sloppy and poor the Bruins have been in their execution. that kind of execution (exemplified by the powerplay) doesn't say confidence in a stanley cup final.

game 7 still has to be played, and anything can happen in the final, but statistically, on paper, and based on what' we've seen this playoffs on both sides, the odds of either TB or Boston beating Vancouver is very low. i think the Bodog odds will suggest that aswell.

anyhow, just looking forward to a great finals. anything can happen in sports and that's what makes it great.

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1st Team All-Star

Vancouver seemed to fair pretty much same against the East as they did the West. They were 43-14-7 against the West and 11-5-2 against the East...including 4-3-1 against the Northeast and 0-1 against Boston. They appeared to do a bit worse against the East than they did against the West.

By comparison, Boston was 38-18-8 against the East and 8-7-3 against the West, including 4-1-0 against the Northwest, and 1-0 against the Nucks. Boston was not as successful against the West.

Tampa was 10-6-2 against the West.

That said, Vancouver certainly WILL be the favorite. However, any of the three remaining teams has a real chance at winning the Cup.

Personally, I think Boston plays MUCH better against teams that play physical hockey. They have struggled against Montreal and Tampa. Montreal dives any time you touch them, so the Bruins didn't play their physical game. Tampa isn't as obvious, but they are not a very physical team.

Vancouver appears to me to be a team that plays a good physical game...in the past this would seem to be a style of play that "wakes up" guys like Lucic, Horton, Campbell, Chara, Seidenberg, Ference, Boychuk, and McQuaid.

Maybe it will be different this time around. Who knows.

Canucks in 6 or 7....all close games other 1 game in which each team wins by 3+ goals.

There was no bias in this series. I am not being hostile, but i am disturbed for sure that every series so far Nucks fans complained about officials being biased.

Enough. Seriously, enough. So much criticism towards Toronto fans when they go after the officials, but Vancouver fans are no better since for three series in a row they've complained about the officiating being biased.

Were there missed calls on SJ? YES. Were there missed calls on Vancouver, ABSOLUTELY. When a team gets a bunch of 5 on 3 PPs in a series, no fan has a right to accuse the officiating of being bias. No right. Not even when the total number of penalties handed out are basically equal.

I can understand if there was a bigger distance or if there was a goal that was not called and should have been, or a goal that was disallowed and should not have been. But none of that.

I respect you guys, but now you're getting biased, and i don't recall much of that on here.

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NHL

I agree that anyone of the three teams could win. When I made the statement about Kesler going off with the injury, I had visions of everything we had hoped for going out the window.

It will be interesting to see what kind of games the final series will turn out to be. Offensively, Nashville was the least threatening of our three opponents to date but the combination of Weber and Suter was incredible, particularly in neutralizing the twins' offense. What killed them was the depth the Canucks had on the second line in particular. The third line had their best series as well and eventually, that wore the top pairing out. With San Jose, it was an entirely different scenario. Their strength was up front with Thornton and Marleau. What killed them was the disappearing act of their second line. If Heatley had earned his salary, that one could easily have gone seven games and been a toss up. In each case, the Canucks were able to provide the necessary ingredient to get the job done. The Sedins were incredible and when the Sharks couldn't stop them, particularly on the power play, they were hooped. The Blackhawks were missing some of the grit from their previous two seasons but they still had great forward skill and speed as well as depth on the back end which provided both defense as well as offense. They got a huge bonus with their young goal tender so they could easily have won that series and, in my estimation, won their second Stanley Cup in a row.

Getting back to my initial projection, I haven't seen enough games involving the eastern finalists to compare them thoroughly with any of the three we've met to date. What I have seen in the playoffs hasn't been particularly impressive. I feel Boston is the strongest on the back end but is that deep enough to avoid what happened with Nashville? The forwards have been very inconsistent. They have potential but they have to step it up on a regular basis. I feel their key concern has to be on special teams. Tampa on the other hand has speed up front but their back end is no where near as good as Boston's. Unless they get involved in a run and gun type of series, that's going to haunt them. Brewer has been fine but Hedman doesn't like a franchise player that he was supposed to be. Ohlund is steady back there but he's a shadow of his time with Vancouver. Age and injuries have a way of doing that to you. Their goal tending isn't anywhere near as good as Boston's either so they could be extremely vulnerable to the Canucks' depth up front.

I think Boston will win game 7 as long as they stay out of the penalty box. If the refs get silly on you, that could allow Tampa to squeak in to the Final.

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1st Round Pick

1) I don't think anyone was saying anything about bias. Speaking for myself, I thought officiating was BRUTAL in games 3 and 4, and while I may be biased in thinking it favored the Sharks, I don't believe that was intentional. Either way it was indefensibly bad.

2) You can't count up penalties and say that officiating was even. If you ask me for directions to the post office and I punch you in the face we don't both deserve the same punishment. Why would hockey be any different.

I don't disagree with what you're saying -- there were missed calls both ways and I think in the end the teams on the ice determined the outcomes of the games. Having said that, your claim is apparently that you can never criticize the officiating. I would have thought it was bad (games 3 and 4) if I were a fan of neither team. The worst part to me is that besides unduly affecting the outcome of the game, it completely ruins the game itself both by disrupting the flow and by being so inconsistent as to confuse the players on the ice as to what is a penalty and what isn't.

I think the officials in Games 1, 2, and 5 provided a very good example of a well controlled game that got things right, by and large, stayed out of the spotlight, and let the teams play. I'm not expecting the refs to be on top of their game every night, just like the players can't, but that doesn't mean that when they're atrocious I'm not going to call them out.

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Hall of Fame

It's not an easy job. I get angry at officials a lot of times, but not to the point where i think they are the worst in sports.

Soccer is probably number one, i think. The NFL had some major issues with officials being downright terrible. Basketball is okay, i think, like the NHL.

I am not saying you should not be allowed to comment on your team. All i got annoyed with was that for three straight series, Nucks fans marked the officiating as biased. It gets to a point where i am ready to hear Nucks fans complain about the officiating in the Finals before Game 1 has even started.

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1st Round Pick

The thing is the problem is in your head. Nobody said it was the worst in sports, and nobody has said it was biased in any of the series. You can complain about made up things all you want, but it's not terribly relevant.

I guess I can't speak for all the Canuck posters here but the way I see it the reffing has been inconsistent throughout the playoffs (there have been good games, for sure, which makes the really awfully reffed ones even more infuriating, because it's not asking the impossible), which has really undermined some games. Sometimes it has cost the Canucks, but other times it has benefited them. I know I'm obviously less likely to be up in arms when it's helping us rather than hurting us, but at no point have I considered much less claimed that there's a conspiracy going on biasing the calls against Vancouver. Let's get back to talking hockey, shall we?

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2nd Team All-Star

I remember making a comment around the time Burkey took over the Leafs saying that if he could bring the Cup to Toronto he would be forever immortalized ... I could imagine in my mind how crazy Leaf fans would get...

But I never for a minute thought Canuck Nation could get this crazy over the team....

A friend is a season ticket holder and was at the Gold Medal Game and also at game 7 against the Hawks...He thinks game 7 was more intense and the building was louder to the point that he had to hold his hands to his ears to muffle the sound...

This team is such a humble group of really good people which is what makes this run so special for me....It is also what makes it so frustrating to listen to the way it is treated in the media ...

I worry that we have gotten ahead of ourselves, and agree with Jeff that whichever team they play in the finals will have as good a chance to win as do the Canucks...

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1st Team All-Star

Special Teams is CERTAINLY Boston's problem. The PK has not been effective in the postseason, and the PP has been awful all year.

On the flipside, Boston is the best team in the NHL at 5 on 5 hockey. So I absolutely agree that staying out of the box is paramount to Bostons success in game 7, and in the SCF, if they are fortunate enough to get there.

Bruin forwards have been inconsistent. The good news is that the Krejci-Lucic-Horton line has been heating up slowly but surely. Prior to this series, it was the Bergeron- Marchand- Recchi line that had carried them. But since his concussion, Bergeron has been a pale shade of his healthy self.

Tough game tonight, and very tough series in Finals if they are lucky enough to advance.

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6th Round Pick

I said the reffing was in favour of the Sharks and I stand by that statement. I really don't care what others think, I watched every minute of every game and that's what I believe. Many other, non-biased fans agree with me - some who admit to disliking the Canucks (Jeff Blair for one) agree as well.

Quite simply, you're on a Canucks dominated board so that's why you are hearing Canucks fans talk about the officiating - call it whining if you will which I find slightly insulting, but that's your choice. If you went to a Boston, Sharks or Lightning board you would hear the same thing - everybody is hating the officiating. Don't even try to make this a Canuck fan thing only.

That said, I did not say it was the worst in pro sports so please don't put words in my mouth, I just said it's atrocious. You should never have reffing become the focal point of a series and it's unfortunate that it does. It's the NHL's fault - they don't allow any criticism of their officials which doesn't promote improvement.This post was edited on 5/27 11:58 AM by Die-hard1

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I don't disagree with the DH -- I thought the reffing favored SJ too, but that's a far cry from saying it was biased, the way I'm using the term. That is, there was no intention on the part of the refs to favor them. Also, given that I'm a fan of the Canucks, I know I can't really trust my judgment -- it certainly seemed tilted towards the Sharks, but it's hard to be totally sure. Like you say, the more important thing is that the overall level in a few games was well below acceptable levels for a professional league.